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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on"><b><font size=5 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;color:black;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:
bold'>WEST</span></font></b></st1:PlaceName><b><font size=5 color=black><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;color:black;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold'>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">COAST</st1:PlaceType></span></font></b></st1:place><b><font
size=5 color=black><span style='font-size:16.0pt;color:black;text-transform:
uppercase;font-weight:bold'> DEMOCRATS USE "JOB ACTION" in the <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:16.0pt;color:black;
text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold'>house TO Win HELP for salmon
Fishermen <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>WASHINGTON, DC - Republican leaders in the
House backed down today in a dispute with Democrats regarding the need to
provide federal aid to West Coast salmon fishermen and small businesses facing
a severe salmon population shortage. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Rep. George Miller</span></font></b><font
color=black><span style='color:black'> (D-CA) and other West Coast Democrats
led by <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Rep. Mike Thompson</span></b> (D-CA)
vowed earlier today to block regular order in the House of Representatives
because the House would not allow debate or a vote an amendment proposed by
Thompson to provide $81 million in immediate disaster relief to the salmon
fishermen and women of California and Oregon and the businesses and communities
that depend on them. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Despite the near-total closure of the 2006
salmon season and the destruction of the Klamath fishery, the Bush
Administration has refused to declare a federal disaster in this industry.
Thompson proposed aiding the affected businesses and communities but
House Republican leaders refused to consider his amendment. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>After several hours of delay this morning,
Republican leaders allowed a modified version of Thompson's amendment to be
considered and it was unanimously approved by the House. While the
modified amendment would provide $2 million in aid to the fishermen and local
communities, Thompson, Miller and others said that approval of the amendment
will allow them the opportunity to fight for more aid later this year when the
House bill that the amendment was attached to is reconciled with a Senate
version of the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>"For no good reason, President Bush
and his allies in Congress have abandoned salmon fishermen, small businesses
and local communities along the West Coast," said Miller.
"Democrats in the House refused to abandon these communities and today we
have won an important victory for them. We will continue to press this
concern in the Congress until we have done everything that we should be doing
as a result of the Administration's fisheries mismanagement."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Miller noted that the rights of the
minority in Congress have been severely limited under GOP rule.
Frequently, Democrats are not allowed to offer amendments that are relevant to
the bill under consideration at that time. But there are still tools
lawmakers can use to block or delay regular order to make the point that they
deserve to have their amendments considered. Because the lawmakers
promised today to use those tools to pressure the Republican leadership to
allow the Thompson amendment to be considered</span></font><font color=navy><span
style='color:navy'>,</span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>
the leadership finally backed down and allowed the amendment to be considered
so that they could continue with regular order for the rest of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><u><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></font></u></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><u><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Background on 2006 Salmon
Fisheries Crisis<o:p></o:p></span></font></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;
font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Several Democratic members co-authored
legislation (H.R.5213) this year to address both the short- and long-term
problems plaguing the Klamath fishery. Miller, Thompson, and others have also
repeatedly asked the Department of Commerce to declare a disaster so that
Congress can provide immediate assistance to the affected fishermen and women
and communities. The Department has refused to do so and says it may be
impossible to make such a declaration until February 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>The Klamath River runs from <st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> through <st1:place w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place>,
and has been badly mismanaged by the Bush administration for political gain.
In 2002, on behalf of the farm industry, the Bush Administration
directed water to be diverted from the river, which resulted in a massive fish
kill. This year's drastically reduced number of returning salmon is directly attributable
to the 2002 fish kill and a parasitic infection resulting from poor federal
management of the river.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Here's how the </span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><a
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-hamburger25jun25,1,3293272.story?ctrack=1&cset=true"
title="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-hamburger25jun25,1,3293272.story?ctrack=1&cset=true">LA
Times</a></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'> wrote about
the Administration's actions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>"All administrations are political,
of course. But never before has the White House inserted electoral priorities
into Cabinet agencies with such regularity and deliberation. Before the 2002
midterm elections, for instance, Rove or Mehlman visited with the managers of
many federal agencies to share polling information and discuss how policy
decisions might affect key races.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>"In 2002, Rove told Interior
Department officials of the importance of helping farmers in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place> whose political support was crucial
to Gordon Smith, a vulnerable Republican senator. Within months, perhaps
because of Rove's exhortations, the agency did just that, supporting the
diversion of water from the environmentally important <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath
River</st1:place> for the sake of irrigating farmland. Thousands of salmon
eventually died in the newly shallow waters. But the senator secured his
reelection."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Advisor, California Trout, Inc</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
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size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>http:www.caltrout.org</span></font></u><font
color=lime><span style='color:lime'> </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
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12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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